Terrific Thursday
On February 11, 1977, Clifford Leopold Alexander, Jr. was confirmed as the first Black Secretary of the Army, the highest civilian leadership role which oversees the army, the land-service branch of the US armed forces. While a significant portion of the US Armed Forces has consisted of racial/ethnic minorities for years, this demographic was not represented in leadership until relatively recently. In fact, the second Black Army Secretary was not appointed until 1993, when President Clinton appointed the late Togo West Jr.* Notably of the 24 (soon to be 25) Army Secretaries, all have been men and only two have been Black. Alexander paved the way.
Born on September 21, 1933, in New York City, Alexander has been a lawyer, businessman, public servant and civil rights leader. His father, a manager at the YMCA and bank manager, was Jamaican-born and his mother, who worked for the NY Welfare department and was the first Black woman to serve as a Democratic representative in the electoral college, was a native New Yorker.
Alexander earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard University in 1955, where he was elected the first Black student body president. Then, he earned his law degree at Yale Law School in 1958. After graduating from Yale Law School, Alexander enlisted in the New York National Guard. Prior to entering federal government service, he served as an assistant district attorney in New York; worked as the Executive Director of Manhattanville- Hamilton-Grange Neighborhood Conservation Project; and founded the Harlem Youth Opportunities. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson appointed Alexander to important positions, on the National Security Council and as the Associate Special Counsel to the President, respectively. In fact, Alexander was one of President Johnson’s most trusted advisors on Civil Rights issues.
Alexander married Adele Logan, a history professor and scholar, in 1959. The two are parents to Presidential Poet Laureate Elizabeth Alexander and Law Professor Mark Alexander. Alexander served in several government positions and in private practice before founding his own private law firm. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Throughout his life he has been a leader, a champion for justice and a pioneer.
*The late Percy A Pierre and John W Shannon served as Acting Secretaries of the Army
Jessie Carney Smith, Black Firsts: 2,000 Years of Extraordinary Achievement (1994)
Clifford Alexander, Enclopedia.com